Posts by kurtfarrar

My work-from-home setup's better than the office. It's GLORIOUS

I agree, though I think businesses need to start looking at the tools that staff use differently. Perhaps giving staff (particularly those that need higher powered machines) an allowance to spend on tools (little more than they would be spending otherwise) and then allow the individual to put towards their own computer.

I know IT admins out there will hate this idea, but I use my own high-spec laptop for work every day. I manage the IT at my company, but I'm far more productive with my high-spec laptop (as everyone else is pointing out with their home rigs) but perhaps devs would be willing to use their own kit if they were getting some sort of contribution towards it.

At the start of an era of BYOD, this is really where I see things going long term, and IT (read: admins) will have the challenge of putting the right systems in place to secure company data on these devices without taking over personal equipment (not taking admin rights off) and allowing business continuity (perhaps there's some insurance out there for employee devices?). As much as BlackBerry are on the decline their dual-use BB OS where you can use the device for both personal and business use with two separate environments, is ideal, so it would be good to see something of this nature come to Windows, either built-in or via a third party.

Re: I can rotate my widescreen TFT into portrait mode

Screen auto-rotate IS built into Windows. I have a Windows 8.1 Pro tablet, if I turn it around, the desktop rotates to match.

The problem here is that desktop monitors don't have a built-in sensor (accelerometer or whatever) to realise which way round it is and communicate to Windows that is needs to rotate.

As someone else posted... it's a desktop monitor... why would it need to know that?

With your monitor that you've rotated, how often do you change it's rotation? Once a year? When you decide to tidy/rearrange your desk? For something that would only be used once a year, I don't see why manufacturers should build the sensors into the monitors and bump up the price as a result. I personally would go and buy one with out the sensor if it was cheaper.

Microsoft gives away more data with SkyDrive upgrade

Copy.com have been offering far more through referral bonuses for a while now. I switched from SkyDrive a long time ago, and has better features for businesses that require local, sync'd storage of files.

Why Teflon Ballmer had to go: He couldn't shift crud from Windows 8, Surface

Re: I'm a MSFT Fan But.....

You can buy a LeapMotion device that will let you do just that with the Windows 8 interface if that's what you want to do. You can place it just in front of your laptop, or just behind the keyboard (or wherever suits you) and hover your hand above the sensor and the swipe.

Re: I'm a MSFT Fan But.....

I agree that it may well be ahead of it's time. Perhaps too much change too soon for users. I always comment on the advent of the tablet era, and it's attribution to Apple and their iPad. Microsoft did this (the best they could using technology of the time) with Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, and the tablets available at the time, but people weren't ready for that form factor, and the app eco-system wasn't available for that form of input to support it.

I don't think that has changed enough today, with Windows 8, it's a large amount of change, that if you can accept the way that Microsoft boffins envisage you using it, you'll work more efficiently, but for the large majority, the apps that they want to use are still desktop apps and therefore not part of the new vision.

Screw you, Brits, says Google: We are ABOVE UK privacy law

Re: Nuts

I thought Google had a whole campus in Reading?

Re: Nuts

Hmmm, to use the sample of adultery in Saudi Arabia, if someone were committing adultery whilst in Saudi Arabia, then the laws of Saudi Arabia (in my opinion) should apply. Regardless of whether their home is in the US, and they are a US citizen.

To claim your home is in another country should not make you exempt from the country where you do business's laws, particularly the deliberate invasion of privacy and a breach that has already been tried and convicted for in the US.

By operating a .co.uk domain, Google are clearly operating in the UK. .co.uk domain names are only issued by Nominet, a UK organisation, not by ICANN, or any other such international, or US organisation. By setting up and operating a UK presence, they should abide by UK laws in addition to those of any other country that they are also operating.